


Big Brother, Big Sister

by shifty_cat



Category: Persona 5
Genre: F/M, Friends & Family, Going to the Planetarium, Tactical RPGs
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-17
Updated: 2019-10-16
Packaged: 2020-10-20 17:05:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,180
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20678882
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shifty_cat/pseuds/shifty_cat
Summary: With Akira busy at the cafe, Makoto takes Futaba out for a trip to the planetarium.





	1. Chapter 1

“Makotoooo, whyyyy are we going to the planetarium?”

Makoto sighed and turned to Futaba with a soft smile. “Because Akira and Sojiro are both going to be very busy at the cafe today. And because, while you’re getting much better with crowds, you don’t seem particularly motivated to leave your room. And because the planetarium is quiet and not overly crowded, so it shouldn’t be too stressful. And because you might actually like it.”

Futaba deflated with a groan. “But if I want to see stars and junk I can just look at them on the internet.”

Makoto shook her head and rolled her eyes. “That isn’t exactly the same. The planetarium gives you a sense of the vastness of the universe and the scope of cosmic phenomena. Besides, I had lots of fun the last time I went.”

Futaba perked up and gave her a knowing smirk. “Yeah, because the last time you went was with Akira.”

That wasn’t entirely untrue. Makoto blushed, but smiled at the memory of holding Akira’s hand in the dark as they looked up at the stars and galaxies and nebulae, listening to the informative and surprisingly well-presented lecture. 

She shook herself out of her reverie and returned her attention to Futaba, who had clearly noticed her dreamy expression and was grinning from ear to ear. “Th-that’s beside the point! It’s important to try new experiences and broaden your horizons. It will help you grow as an informed and well-rounded person.”

Futaba resumed her sulk. “Fine, but can we stop by Akihabara after? There are some new games I want to check out.”

Makoto nodded with a satisfied smile. “That seems fair. Very well, it’s a deal.”

As they boarded the train to Ikebukuro, Makoto realized a flaw in her plan. While it was nowhere near peak hours, and the planetarium itself was unlikely to be overcrowded, the holiday meant that the trains were packed. She turned to see a very nervous Futaba, and brought a hand up to give her back a comforting rub. “Just stay close to me. You’ll be fine.”

Futaba nodded quickly and latched onto her arm as they squeezed into the mass of people. They found a relatively unpopulated spot near the wall and Makoto stood with her back to the other passengers, shielding Futaba from the majority of the crowd.

As they settled in for the ride, Makoto looked down at Futaba with a comforting smile. “See? This won’t be so bad.”

Futaba gave her a nervous smile and a nod, then Makoto’s eyes shot open as she felt a blatantly intentional hand come to rest on her butt. Her eyes narrowed, and she shot her hand back, catching the perpetrator’s wrist and twisting forcefully, eliciting a pained yelp from somewhere in the crowd.

Futaba looked up at Makoto with wide eyes. “Whoa! Do you think you could teach me to do that?”

Makoto beamed down at her. “It would be my pleasure.”

Futaba grumbled and sank into her seat as a message requesting that all patrons turn off their phones and other electronic devices scrolled across the domed ceiling of the planetarium. Makoto shook her head with a giggle and tapped Futaba’s arm. “I think you can survive being unplugged for one hour.”

Futaba threw up her hands in frustration. “But we live in the information age! Do you have any idea how much data I’ll miss just staring at dumb stars for a whole hour?”

Any further protests were silenced as the room went dark, then a tremendous explosion was projected across the ceiling as a booming announcer voice began. “All matter in the known universe, everything that we are and everything we can observe, began from one infinitesimally small, unimaginably dense point within an unknowable, immeasurable void.”

Despite her cynicism, Futaba found herself rapt by the majesty of the vast swirls of luminous cosmic dust hundreds of light-years across, sprawled across the void of space, as they coalesced and gave birth to stars, bound together across unfathomable distances into galaxies composed of trillions of systems. Makoto glanced over, with a satisfied smile at her wide-eyed awe as the lecture delved into more exotic phenomena, quasars and pulsars, black holes and neutron stars.

As the lecture concluded and the lights came up, Futaba turned to Makoto with a reluctant pout. “Okay, I’ll admit, that was pretty cool.”

Makoto nodded and patted her arm. “I’m glad you enjoyed. We should take a trip to Akira’s hometown out in the country some time. Getting to see the real stars and the Milky Way is quite spectacular.”

Futaba hummed thoughtfully. “Yeah, I think I might like that. Do you think his parents would be okay with me visiting?”

Makoto giggled and lightly tousled her hair. “I’m sure they would be delighted to get to know their son’s little sister.”

Futaba smiled and leaned over to give her a hug. “Thanks, Queen. You were right, it was fun to get out of my comfort zone and try something new.” She pulled back, and her eyes lit up. “Now, on to Akihabara! I’ve got to show you some tactical RPGs. You’ll love ‘em!”

Makoto raised a finger to her chin and considered her proposition. “Tactical, you say? Well, since we don’t have the Metaverse anymore, I have been looking for something to keep my tactical thinking sharp. And I’m always interested in expanding my horizons. I think I would like that, Futaba.”

Futaba hopped up from her seat and pumped an enthusiastic fist. “Alright, Queen!”

Akira heaved a sigh of relief as the flood of people finally began to taper off, giving him an opportunity to make progress on the accumulated mountain of dishes to be washed. As the bell over the door of Leblanc heralded the arrival of another customer, he rolled his eyes with frustration as he dried his hands. As he put his customer service mask back on and turned to greet the newcomer, his eyes widened at the familiar head of long silver hair and sharp suit of Sae Niijima.

Quickly recovering, he gave the elder Niijima sister a warm and welcoming smile. “Niijima-san! Welcome! What can I get you?”

Sae gave him a curt nod. “The usual, thank you. But actually, I’m here to see you, Kurusu-kun.”

Akira raised an eyebrow, hoping Sae wouldn’t notice his nervous gulp. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”

Sae sat at the stool directly facing him, steepled her hands, and fixed him with a medium-intensity Niijima Glare. “I have a few questions for you, Kurusu.”

His shoulders sank as he heaved a sigh. “Another interrogation, then? I don’t think there’s much left that I haven’t told either you or the courts. And I thought the case against Shido was air-tight at this point.”

She shook her head. “The case is going well, but that isn’t what I wanted to speak to you about.”

He gave her a wry grin as he started brewing her coffee. “It’s about Makoto, isn’t it?”

She nodded and gave him a serious look. “It is. When I learned of your relationship with my sister, I had, perhaps naively, thought that it might be nothing more than an innocent high-school infatuation. With your return to Tokyo, however, I am forced to accept that your relationship is quite serious. As such, I want to ascertain precisely what your intentions with Makoto are.”

He tapped a finger to his chest, then leaned lightly on the bar. “Well, we’ve agreed to hold off on any discussion of marriage until we’re both out of school and established, but I think we both feel like we couldn’t imagine spending the rest of our lives with anyone else.”

She let out an unconvinced huff. “A charming sentiment. Sentimentality, however, is all too often subject to the whims of fate. My sister is inexperienced, and can be somewhat naive concerning matters of the heart. I have no doubt that she feels strongly for you, but I need to be confident that you can be trusted not to take advantage of her feelings.”

He gave her a serious look. “I could assure you that my intentions are pure, but I don’t know that my assurances would mean much to you. Look, Niijima-san, I understand. I’m an only child, but Futaba has become like my little sister, and I’m scared as hell about whenever she starts getting serious about relationships. We spent a year confronting some of the worst of humanity, and I’m acutely aware of how bad men can be.”

He set her cup on the bar, then leaned back against the shelves of beans, closed his eyes, and let out a deep sigh. “I don’t know that there’s anything I can say that would make you trust me, beyond the fact that I love Makoto with all my heart. I hope that over time we’ll confirm to you that we both love each other, and we make each other happy like no one else in the world could. But more importantly, I think you should trust Makoto more.”

He opened his eyes, some of Joker’s intensity in his look. “We’ve worked more closely together than most people could imagine. We fought a god together, we entrusted each other with our lives. She may be a bit naive about some things. Hell, I might be too, but she’s grown into a brilliant, self-confident woman, and it may be self-serving, but I think she can make decisions for herself better than just about anyone I know.”

Sae sighed and rubbed her temples. “You may be right about that. I’ve taken care of her for so long, it’s difficult not to think of her as my baby sister, who needs my protection, but I can’t deny that she’s grown so much since she joined you. She’s become so strong and self-assured. Maybe worrying about her is, in part, me trying to make up for the distance I put between us, trying to hold onto the baby sister who needed me. But my baby sister has grown into a woman, and I need to let her make her own choices.”

Akira gave her a warm smile. “Don’t be too hard on yourself. Like I said, I get it. I’m new to being a big brother, but so far it seems like a lot of pressure. But I know for a fact that even though Makoto’s grown up, she still loves her big sister, and I’m sure she’s glad that you care enough to worry about her. But trust me, she’s demonstrated on multiple occasions that she could kick my ass if I ever did anything to hurt her.”

At that, Sae actually laughed (Akira could not recall her laughing at any previous point in the time he had known her), then gave him a frightening grin. “I’m glad to hear that. But trust me, Akira. Makoto has yet to beat me in a spar, so if you’re worried about what she would do to you, you don’t want to know what I’ll do to you if you ever hurt her.”

She gave him a satisfied smile as he nodded and gulped nervously, then she finished her coffee, stood, and gave him a slight bow. “It’s been a pleasure speaking with you, Akira. Perhaps we should arrange a dinner sometime. You, me, and Makoto. There are other aspects of your relationship that I need to make my stance clear on, that will require a more private discussion.”

Akira gave her a respectful bow as she left, then let out a deep sigh after the door closed behind her and muttered under his breath. “She’s going to fucking kill me when she finds out what we’ve been getting up to.”

Akira was wiping down the bar after closing up when Makoto and Futaba returned, both clearly in high spirits. As he stepped around the bar to greet them, Futaba ran over to give him a sisterly hug, while Makoto waited for her to pull back before giving him an affectionate kiss, a mysterious smile on her face the whole time. “Akira~, do you still have that Super Famidrive up in the attic.”

He nodded, and she pulled a pair of carts from her bag: Pyro Banner: Conundrum of the Banner, and Troll Skirmish: Advance of the Shady Monarch. He gave the games a surprised look, then turned to Futaba, who was hopping up and down with excitement. He returned his attention to Makoto and gave her a playful grin. “If we get sucked into a game, you might miss the last train.”

She giggled and gave him a suggestive smirk. “I know.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gang plays Pyro Banner. Also, studying!

“Arthello, nooooo!”

“Why do you even give a crap about Arthello, he’s blatantly your worst unit, has got fuckall for stat increases all campaign, and you were just using him to bait the enemy AI into coming into range of that beastmode sorceress I still can’t believe you have.”

“Please don’t curse so casually, Futaba. I don’t want Mr. Inui calling Sojiro regarding you complaining about ‘geocentric bullshit’ in history class again. And a commander does not value her soldiers merely for the strength of their arms, but for their Will to fight for the cause of Justice.”

Futaba chuckled and rolled her eyes, giving Makoto a playful salute, then turned to Akira. “Yes, Queen. Man, we totally should have done this sooner.”

Akira, who was seated comfortably directly under Makoto on his old bed, his arms wrapped lightly around her waist and his chin resting on her shoulder, gave Futaba a grin. “You’re telling me?”

Makoto had learned to play Pyro Banner faster than Futaba had ever seen someone other than herself pick up a game. It didn’t hurt that the initial missions were a rather easy tutorial, as far as Makoto was concerned, but by the time enemies began actually posing a threat, she had both fully mastered tactical spacing and the full range of units and abilities, and developed a fearsome army that Futaba was very vocally jealous of.

She had quickly picked up on the value of sorcerers and priests, who started fairly limited and fragile but became powerhouses with levels and spells. Knowing that, she ensured that they got the lion’s share of experience, giving her a team of extremely potent spellcasters. Her two sorcerers, the feisty Cat-Sidhe siblings Lune and Elanna, rained meteors on the armies of darkness, while her serious and calculating Grey Elf priestess, Corinne, made her entire army functionally unkillable.

Complementing her magical deathball, she had assembled a varied cast of specialist units, her favorite being the fierce but noble Valkyrie dervish Selene, who made use of her unparalleled speed and extremely high physical damage to pick off enemy spellcasters before they could do the The Fist of Justice (as Futaba had insisted Makoto name her army, with Akira seconding the motion) what her terrifying faerie cats were doing to them. 

While the story itself was somewhat typical of high fantasy, Makoto found it quite compelling to command the underdog forces loyal to a small but righteous house in their war against a conquering army allied with the Unholy Lords of the Abyss. Far more compelling, though, was the gameplay, which she immediately found well suited to her mode of tactical thinking, as much as Futaba teased her for her refusal to sacrifice less important units and insistence on ensuring everyone’s safe return.

While she offered to trade missions with Futaba and Akira, they both insisted that they were having way more fun watching her play than they would playing themselves. Instead, they constantly conferred with her, her trusted advisers in her campaign against the demonic hordes. Akira had the added duty of rewarding her with a kiss for each job well done, which he took to with gusto. Futaba made a brief performance of disgust, rolling her eyes and sticking out her tongue, but she couldn’t help but smile proudly at the two of them once their attention was back on the game.

Futaba giggled as Makoto’s army exacted terrible vengeance for the fall of their loyal comrade, Arthello. “You know you can just restart the mission if you’re that invested in keeping your mooks alive, right?”

Makoto shook her head, with a serious expression. “As commander, I must live with the consequences of my decisions.”

Akira gave her a playful smirk and nuzzled her shoulder affectionately. “Tales of Arthello’s brave sacrifice will be sung in the mead-halls for generations.”

They ended up playing until well after the last train, but Makoto was prepared, with spare pajamas and fresh clothes for the next day, kept in Akira’s room for just such an occasion. Her victories over the forces of darkness had put her in a very good mood, and after Morgana insisted Futaba get some sleep before school, she and Akira stayed up a little bit longer, to play a different type of game.

Afterwards, as they lay comfortably in each other’s arms, Akira hesitantly brought up the meeting earlier in Leblanc. “So… your sister came by the cafe today.”

Makoto rolled her eyes with a sigh, then gave him a gentle, knowing smile. “From your tone I gather that Sis wasn’t there for the coffee.”

He nodded and traced light circles along her hip with his fingertips. “She wanted to ask about us, to know what my ‘intentions’ with you were, and make sure I was seriously committed and wouldn’t end up hurting you.”

She giggled and ran her fingers through his hair. “I wouldn’t worry about that. We both know that I could make you regret anything along those lines.”

He laughed quietly and leaned in to give her a soft, affectionate kiss. “That’s what I told her. She seemed satisfied. Well, as satisfied as she’s going to get until she gets a bit more used to the idea of us together.”

She scooched closer and nuzzled into his chest. “But?”

He rested his chin on the top of her head with a grin. “What makes you think there’s a ‘but’?”

She shook her head with a giggle and lightly kissed his collarbones. “You wouldn’t be this nervous if that was it.”

He softly tapped his fingers on her back. “Well… she said the three of us should get together for dinner sometime...”

Her kisses slowly migrated up his neck to his jaw. “That doesn’t sound so scary. She’s been much better lately. A dinner together could actually be quite nice.”

In spite of her gentle ministrations, she could feel his jaw set. “She said there are other aspects of our relationship that she wants to discuss with us in private.”

She pulled back and gave him a wide eyed look. “Oh.”

He nodded with a serious expression. “Yeah...”

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, then gave him a gentle look and lightly stroked his cheek. “Well, I suppose she’s going to have to learn to live with that part of our relationship sooner or later. She was more understanding than I expected when she first found out that we were… active. Mostly, she wanted to make sure we were being safe.”

He relaxed a little into her touch, but his eyes were still worried. “I’m mainly concerned about what she’ll do if she finds out about some of the more… unconventional things we’ve been doing.”

She gave him an understanding nod, then gently pulled him into a reassuring kiss. “We’ll just tell her that we both enjoy all of it, we’re both very happy with everything we do together, and that’s just how it is.” She pulled back and gave him a playful smirk. “And if things get dicey, I can hold her off while you make your escape.”

He rolled his eyes with a chuckle and wrapped his arm around her to pull her closer. “Thanks.”

“Could someone please explain to me how a bunch of jerks with no concept of germ theory are in any way relevant to my life?” Futaba laid her head down on her open textbook, looking extremely done with this. 

Makoto looked up from the court decision she was studying, sitting across from Futaba and next to Akira in a booth of the Shibuya diner where the three of them preferred to study (as Akira was prone to get a bit too pleasantly distracting to Makoto when they studied in Leblanc’s attic), and shook her head with a sigh. “History is important, Futaba. We live in a complex causal web, and understanding how we got here informs how we’re connected. Besides, the noble actions of the past can set an example for how we should act and who we want to be.”

Generally speaking, instilling proper study habits in Futaba was going reasonably well. She was tremendously bright, and had taught herself coding, as well as a significant amount of computer science and electrical engineering, essentially on her own. Once she was interested in a subject, she would consume all the available information on it voraciously, quickly grasping and synthesizing concepts. She was, unsurprisingly, already at the top of her class in math and science, as well as, a bit more surprisingly, literature, which she took to well once Makoto explained it as a means of connecting with the cognitive experiences of others. But god, did she ever hate history.

She couldn’t for the life of her understand how she was supposed to learn anything worthwhile from people who’s views on objectively knowable facts were demonstrably wrong. Sure, Euclid and Pythagoras codified mathematical principles that were still valid, and Newtonian physics still worked more or less as intended for a specific scale of phenomena, but Newton wrote more about alchemy than he did about physics or calculus, which was a massive waste of potential, as far as she was concerned (he also died a virgin and proud of it, which was both baffling to her, and felt like a frightening possibility that she didn’t want to consider).

And those were the smart ones! For the most part, history seemed to be about a bunch of idiots who went around killing people because some god told them to, which was frankly the bullshittiest of bullshits. Most of the ones who actually had good ideas, and challenged the stupid crap people believed, ended up either thrown in a dungeon or burned as heretics. Was that what she was supposed to learn? ‘Speak up and The Public will beat the shit out of you and probably kill you.’ She already knew that. They all did, from personal experience.

Akira tapped his straw on the edge of his glass of Frui-tea. “‘History, Stephen said, is a nightmare from which I am trying to awake.’”

Futaba lifted her head from her book and threw her hands up. “That’s what I’m saying! And who’s Stephen?”

Makoto shook her head and pinched the bridge of her nose. “It’s from Ulysses, and please don’t encourage her to avoid studying. I know that history can be terribly depressing and frustrating, especially when you delve past nationalistic propaganda, but we need to learn from it to avoid past mistakes and work towards a better future. George Santayana said ‘those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.’”

Futaba pouted at her, unconvinced. “Yeah, but they teach history to like everyone, and people are still doing the same dumb shit. History repeats whether we learn from it or not.”

Makoto tapped her finger to her chin in thought. “That may be so, Futaba, but at least when you understand history you have a frame of reference for why people are making the same mistakes, and can formulate your resistance from an informed position.”

Futaba relented and dropped her head back onto her textbook with a groan. “But people in the past were sooooo duuuuumb. They didn’t know about anythiiiing.”

Makoto crossed her arms with a frown. “That’s a rather reductive idea of knowledge, Futaba. Most of the advances of modern science were made possible by technological advances brought about by an evolution of ideas from theories we now know to not be the case. Without the reflecting telescope we wouldn’t have modern astronomy, without the microscope we wouldn’t have germ theory. People in the past weren’t ‘dumb,’ they were simply working from the set of knowledge available and trying to make a coherent worldview based on what they could observe. Here...”

She rummaged through the stack of books in her bag, pulled one out, and plopped it in front of Futaba, who lifted her head to look skeptically at the cover. “‘An Archaeology of the Human Sciences?’ What does that even mean?”

Makoto thought for a moment about how to summarize The Order of Things. “Foucault examines the history of biology, linguistics, and economics, showing the transition from what you could call an occult or mystical understanding to a more scientific worldview around the Seventeenth Century, and how the change in cultural understanding represents a paradigm shift, a change in the cognitive perception of reality.”

She knew from experience that the quickest way to get Futaba interested in a subject was to link it to cognition, and gave her a satisfied smile as the younger girl picked up and examined the book, then slid it into her own bag. “Alright, I’ll check it out.”

A sudden notification on her phone caused Futaba to perk up, reading excitedly before transitioning to a scowl at the screen as she became aware of the curious looks Makoto and Akira were giving her. “Just stupid Inari. He wants to know if I wanna go to some art exhibit. Guess I might as well, there’s usually at least something cool at them.”

As she rapidly typed a response, Makoto shot a subtle smile at Akira, who looked a little conflicted about this information. After she sent a confirmation that she would (reluctantly) be willing to attend the exhibit, Futaba looked up at them, a bit sheepish. “Hey, do you guys know if Inari has been to the planetarium? I figure it might help him, you know, get inspiration for a painting, or something...”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Art and Food

“Uhhh, it still just looks like a big red egg. I don’t get it.”

Yusuke put his hands on his hips and shook his head. “It isn’t a matter of ‘getting’ it, it’s a matter of experiencing it. In a move of bold, abstract minimalism, the artist presents this as a lone, unique object. And I would hardly consider it ‘just’ an egg. The texture and shading are exquisite, at times seeming to leap off the canvas to confront the viewer, at others drawing inward, pulling the audience into its own world.”

Futaba squinted at the big red egg, trying to see the alleged 3D effect, then turned away with a frustrated huff. “Nope, still don’t get it. I read a conspiracy theory once that said Abstract Expressionism was a CIA plot to devalue Soviet Realist art.”

Yusuke drew back, scandalized. “Preposterous!”

She giggled and stuck out her tongue at him. “I guess you would know, King Preposterous of Preposteroustan.”

He crossed his arms and brought his hand to his chin, shaking his head in frustrated confusion. “What does that even mean?”

Ignoring his question, she grabbed Yusuke’s arm and began dragging him to another section of the museum. “C’mon, Inari, I wanna check out those schizophrenic cat drawings!”

As he followed her towards the Louis Wain collection on display, Futaba looked up at Yusuke with a grin. “Y’know, I like your paintings way better. Even though they’re weird, you can kinda feel this, I dunno, energy or motion or depth. Like that ‘Desire and Hope’ one you did. I still don’t know if I totally understand it, but I can feel this, like, tension between darkness and light that’s pretty cool. Is that what ‘experiencing’ it is?”

Wait… oh crap, had she just actually complimented Inari? Her heart betrayed her as it fluttered a bit when he gave her a genuine smile. “You have my sincere thanks, Futaba. I worry at times that my more abstract pieces may be rather esoteric and would appeal only to a small set of professional critics, so it is quite gratifying to know that they can provoke a spontaneous reaction.”

Futaba was saved from any further confrontations with the unfamiliar (though not entirely unpleasant) feelings she was experiencing, as they arrived at Louis Wain’s Famous Set, eight drawings progressing from recognizable if slightly cartoonish cats to bizarre fractal patterns only vaguely reminiscent of the general shapes of a feline. 

She stopped and stared wide eyed at the set. “Whoa! These are awesome!”

Yusuke leaned in to closely examine the use of color and geometry in one of the more abstract cats. “I must agree. While Wain’s mental deterioration was undoubtedly a tragedy, the products of his fractured mind are deeply imaginative and endlessly fascinating.”

Futaba glanced over, seeing in Yusuke’s expression a tension between his appreciation for Wain’s creativity and sympathy for his condition. It was kind of cute. Wait! No. Nonono. She did NOT just think that Inari was cute!

Did she?

“Well, I think it’s very sweet. She clearly has a bit of a thing for Yusuke, but she doesn’t quite seem to know how to express it yet.”

Makoto grinned playfully at Akira, who was rummaging through Leblanc’s fridge (since Sojiro needed to restock anyway, he had given him permission to grab ingredients to make dinner for Sae). He gave her a noncommittal grumble in reply. “Don’t you think Futaba is a bit young to be thinking about relationships?”

She rolled her eyes with a giggle. “Who are you and what have you done with Akira? I’m supposed to be the one who worries about this sort of thing. Besides, she’s only a year younger than you. When you were her age we had just started dating, and I was pretty close to Yusuke’s age at the time, so I don’t see what the issue is. And wouldn’t you rather she be attracted to him than some random boy you don’t even know?”

He turned to face her with a sigh and a frown. “You weren’t with us yet when he tried to blackmail Ann into posing nude for him.”

She shook her head and took his hand gently in hers. “I’ll admit that is quite bad, but you know better than anyone that he’s grown a lot since then. And to be fair, I did try to blackmail you too, and so did Futaba.” She tapped her finger to her chin. “Come to think of it, I believe Haru is the only one other than the original team who didn’t try to blackmail you at some point.”

He squeezed her hand, but still looked displeased. “Those were different. You were trying to protect the students, and wanted us to prove that we worked for justice. Futaba needed our help saving her from her own demons. Yusuke wanted to exploit Ann right after everything she went through with Kamoshida.”

She brought up her free hand up to run her fingers softly through his hair. “Akira, believe me, I know. I’m not saying that what he did was at all acceptable, but he didn’t know any of what Ann went through at the time, she’s long since forgiven him, and I think that with all he’s gone through with us, he’s earned our trust. Honestly, I don’t think there was even anything sexual about it. You know how he can be when he’s ‘inspired’.”

His expression softened a bit, but some worry remained in his eyes. “That’s what I’m afraid of. When it comes to his art, Yusuke has a tendency to forget about everything else, including common sense and basic decency. Remember when he offered to do a painting of us? His first idea was, and I quote, ‘to capture us in the throes of passionate lovemaking.’”

She winced at the memory, then closed her eyes with a sigh. “Point taken. But I don’t think trying to keep her away from him will achieve anything other than making her resent us. I believe that we’ll just have to let her make her own choices, and support her whether it works out or not. I know you feel very protective of her. I do too, but Futaba is growing up, and this is part of that.”

He relented with a resigned sigh and a nod. “Fine. But no posing nude until she’s eighteen.”

She gave him a satisfied smile and stood on her toes to give him a soft kiss. “Agreed.”

Since he began producing art regularly under his own name, Yusuke had become reasonably popular (by his own standard), thought of favorably by a respectable portion of Tokyo’s artistic community. As a result, he had upgraded his existential position from “starving artist” to “surviving artist.” This, in combination with Makoto’s lessons on budgeting and fiscal responsibility, meant he could afford to enjoy monjayaki in Tsukishima with Futaba after their trip to the gallery. Futaba, who had recently begun distributing a popular phone app, could pay her own way.

Yusuke’s monjayaki was a work of art, a perfect balance of ingredients harmoniously arrayed across the canvas of a perfectly shaped and cooked monja, aesthetically pleasing to all the senses.

Futaba’s monjayaki was… interesting. Two thoughts occurred to her as she surveyed the fallout of her experiments. The first was that choosing ingredients based on what sounded like the funniest combination was not the best way to make monjayaki. The second was that she may want to take Akira and Makoto up on their offers to teach her to cook.

As she looked down in despair at her aberrant monjayaki, it was replaced in her vision by the flawless masterpiece Yusuke had produced, as it pushed aside her plate and took its place in front of her. She looked up in shock at Yusuke, who was already beginning on a new monja. “What?! Oh… thanks...”

Yusuke nodded with a pleased smile. “Think nothing of it. You appeared quite distraught with your own monjayaki, and I relish the opportunity to further my experience with such an artistic food.”

He returned to the task of producing another perfect monjayaki, and Futaba couldn’t help but feel a strange but very pleasant warmth in her chest as she smiled and tried a bite of the monja, which tasted even better than it looked.

When they had both finished with their monja, Yusuke leaned back in his booth, pulled out a sketchpad and a pencil, and began to silently scribble. Futaba watched the look of intense concentration on his face, apparently directed at the salt shaker, and she couldn’t help but giggle. “Hey, Inari.”

Yusuke raised an eyebrow, and his line of sight shifted from the salt to her. “Yes?”

She leaned forward in her seat, trying to get a look at his sketchpad. “Whatcha doin’?”

He turned the sketchpad for her to see the partially completed salt shaker. “Sketching.”

She raised a playful, confused eyebrow at him. “The salt shaker?”

He nodded and resumed his drawing. “From this angle it assumed rather unique proportions. One never knows where one will find inspiration.”

She sat back in her seat with a huff. “Weirdo.” He shook his head with a sigh and continued sketching the salt. She had a thought, and leaned forward again. “Do you ever draw me?”

He nodded and set his pencil down, flipping through a few pages of his sketchpad. “Of course. We spend quite a bit of our time together, and you have a unique aesthetic that I rather enjoy working with.”

He turned the pad to show her a drawing of herself in profile, leaning forward in her computer chair, with a massive grin of triumph as her smurf pwned some noobs in DotA. He turned to another and it was her sprawled out on her stomach, holding out her phone with a video of cats being afraid of cucumbers, her chin supported on her other hand and a playful smile on her face. 

He turned to a third, a portrait of her, looking like she was almost certainly in the act of teasing him. Her eyes had a mischievous set, and sparkled with brilliance and challenge, and her smirk was bright and playful. And she was way, way prettier than Futaba thought she was.

She turned a wide eyed look to Yusuke, then sank back in her seat. “Pfft, wishful thinking much? There’s no way I look that good.”

He shook his head and considered the portrait with a frustrated frown. “Quite the contrary. I fear that I have yet to properly recreate your charm.”

She hoped that his Super Artist Senses couldn’t hear her heart beating out of her chest. “Hey, Inari.”

Again, Yusuke raised an eyebrow, and his line of sight shifted from the portrait to her. “Yes?”

She internally regretted (just a little bit) all the times she had teased Makoto for blushing. “Y’know, you could ask me if you wanted to draw me.”

He tapped his pencil to his chin thoughtfully. “I generally prefer to sketch subjects living their lives as though not consciously participating in a work of art. However, if you would like to model for a painting, it would be my pleasure to work with you.”

She nodded, her eyes wide. “That sounds good.” She cursed herself for the slight squeak in her voice.

“Mmm, this is delicious!”

Sae was uncharacteristically surprised as she looked up from her first bite of the curry salmon Akira and his mother had developed (and Akira and Makoto had perfected), to stare wide eyed at the young couple who had produced it. “Well, I must admit, you two do work quite well together.”

Makoto turned with a proud smile to Akira, who still looked just a little nervous in Sae’s presence. “We’ve had a lot of practice.”

Sae gave them a satisfied nod. “That’s good. I’m glad to see that you treat each other as partners. You’re both bright young people with a tremendous amount of potential. I hope you both continue to work together and support each other in your goals.”

Akira relaxed and gave her a respectful bow. “Thank you, Sae-san. We do, and I hope we always will. Makoto isn’t just the love of my life, she’s also my study partner.”

Makoto stifled a giggle and lightly slapped Akira’s thigh under the table. Sae, who was enjoying another bite of salmon, didn’t seem to notice. After a satisfied hum, she shifted gears, set her fork down, and fixed Akira with a low intensity Niijima Glare. “However, that brings me to the other matters I wish to discuss with you. Specifically, I want to discuss your prospects. As I said, you are a bright young man with tremendous potential, and I want to know that you intend to put that potential to good use.”

Akira partially deflated with a release of the breath he had been holding since the beginning of Sae’s transformation in an incredibly relieved sigh. Makoto, seeing that he would need a moment to formulate a coherent thought, turned to Sae with a smile. “Akira has been interning with Toranosuke Yoshida for over a year, and plans to run for the Diet. He’s already been accepted to Tokyo University, so we’ll have some law courses together, but he’ll be taking political science while I’m doing criminal justice.”

Akira nodded and caught his breath. “It may be shooting for the stars, but I think Old Man Tora’s faction can do some real good, and if I can help work for real reform and change for the better, I’ll fight like hell to get it done.”

Makoto gave him a proud smile and a quick, soft kiss. “He can be very inspiring. And he’s quite the people person.”

Sae nodded, appearing satisfied with their answers, then fixed her glare back on Akira. “Why did you suddenly seem much more relaxed when I brought up your prospects? What did you think I was going to ask you?”

Akira and Makoto exchanged nervous looks for a moment before Sae slammed her hands on the table. “Answer me!”

With a sigh of resignation, he turned sheepishly to face her glare. “I thought you wanted to discuss our… sex lives.”

Sae shook her head with a surprised frown. “Why on earth would I? The less I know about what you two do together in private, the better. I’ll tell you exactly what I told Makoto. Be safe. Having a child is a tremendous commitment, and you both have a great deal to do before you should be considering that kind of commitment.”

Akira fully deflated, and Makoto shifted to lightly support him before he slid out of his chair.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Questions

“Ummmm, Makoto…?”

Makoto looked up from the mock dissenting opinion she was working on to find Futaba peeking over the back of her computer chair with a nervous, expectant look. “Yes, Futaba?”

Futaba sank a little bit further behind her chair. “How do you know if… if a boy likes you?”

Makoto set her laptop down beside her and gave Futaba a warm smile. “You know, that isn’t exactly my area of expertise.”

Futaba plopped back into her chair with a huff and spun to face her. “But you and Akira are like the cutest couple ever. Plus, you’re the only boy-girl couple I’m friends with. If I needed to know if a girl liked me I could ask Ann, but you’re kinda my only hope.”

Makoto brought a finger to her chin in thought. “Alright, I’ll try to help. Does this boy seem to enjoy spending time with you?”

Futaba scrunched up her nose, analyzing the time she had spent with Yusuke. “I think so. We hang out a bunch, and sometimes he asks if I want to go somewhere with him.”

Makoto nodded with a pleased smile. “That seems promising. Does he seem to enjoy talking with you? Conversation is an important part of a relationship.”

Futaba looked a bit more worried about this one. “Maybe… I kinda tease him a bit, but he doesn’t get mad, and when I’m talking about something I like, he listens even if he doesn’t get it, and when he talks about something he likes he gets really into it, even if I don’t get it. And when we find something we both like he’s really fun to talk to and he seems… happy.”

Makoto couldn’t help but giggle a bit. “Well that seems like a good sign. Does he ever do something nice for you just because he wants you to be happy, or doesn’t want to see you unhappy?”

Futaba thought back to Yusuke replacing her disastrous attempt at monjayaki, and the way he smiled when she thanked him. “Yeah… I guess he kinda does.”

Makoto brought her hands together in a conclusive gesture and gave Futaba a playful grin, thoroughly enjoying being the one to make her blush for a change. “Hmm. As I said, I’m no expert on such matters, but it appears to me that there’s a good chance that this boy likes you.”

Futaba’s blush deepened, and she hugged her knees to her chest. “O-okay… ummm, what am I supposed to do then? He’s one of my best friends, and I don’t want to make things super awkward between us.”

Having gotten her fill of teasing her, Makoto reached out and gently patted Futaba’s knee with a sympathetic smile. “Don’t feel that you need to rush things. Just enjoy your time together and gradually get to know each other better and get closer. When the moment seems right, give him a hint that you would like to start dating.”

Futaba relaxed a bit and gave Makoto a determined nod. “Okay, I think I can do that. Thanks, Queen.”

Makoto returned her nod, then gave her a mischievous smirk. “Oh, and Futaba...”

Futaba raised an eyebrow nervously. “Yeah…?”

Makoto gave her a serious look. “No posing nude until you’re eighteen.”

Futaba jumped back, aghast. “I wasn’t gonna… wait, you knew it was Yusuke?”

Makoto gave her a smile that made it perfectly clear that she knew.

Futaba leaned forward with a questioning look. “Well… do you think he likes me?”

Makoto thought seriously about her question, giving her a warm, sympathetic look. “Well, I certainly think he likes you. As you said, you both seem to enjoy your time and your conversations together. But...”

Futaba’s eyes widened in fear. “‘But’? Why ‘but’? That doesn’t sound like a good ‘but’.”

Makoto reached out to give her shoulder a comforting rub. “But it’s hard to say whether Yusuke is interested in a romantic relationship. He can be a bit of an enigma.”

Futaba sank down into her chair with a grumble. “He’s a big dumb weirdo.”

Makoto giggled and tousled her hair affectionately. “Well, that’s one way to put it. Honestly, I can’t remember ever seeing him expressing interest in women beyond his art. At the fireworks festival, he was entirely unimpressed with a couple young women who were clearly flirting with him.”

Futaba glanced up at her. “Do you think he’s gay? Not that it would be bad if he was, but...”

“But you would prefer if he reciprocated your feelings.” She tapped a finger to her chin. “I suppose that is a possibility, but from what Akira said, he was baffled that people would mistake them for a couple when they took a boat ride together for him to sketch. Really, I’m not sure he’s considered his own sexuality very much. He seems to primarily view the world through his art. It’s possible that he’s asexual, but honestly I have no idea, and it’s better not to speculate about others.”

Futaba gave her a wide eyed, confused look. “You mean he reproduces with spores or something? Or budding, like a sponge?”

Makoto laughed and lightly slapped Futaba’s knee. “I mean he might not experience sexual attraction or desire sexual relationships. But...”

Futaba threw her hands up in despair. “Another ‘but’?!”

Makoto shook her head with a gentle smile. “This one is a good ‘but’.”

Unable to help herself, Futaba gave her a cheeky grin. “Like yours?”

Makoto rolled her eyes with a sigh, blushing fiercely. “As I was saying: But if he is interested in a relationship, I would say there is a very good chance it would be with you. The two of you seem to understand each other on a deep level, and while your chemistry together can be a bit… eccentric, you both clearly enjoy each other’s company. I think you would make a very cute couple.”

Futaba relaxed a bit and gave her a small, sheepish smile. “You really think so?”

Makoto nodded and gently squeezed Futaba’s shoulder. “I do.”

Futaba sprung forward to wrap Makoto in a tight hug. “Thanks, Queen!”

“You are the goddess Athena, patron of heroes, embodiment of Wisdom, and avatar of Truth. Please tilt your chin up and to your left slightly. Perfect.”

Futaba felt a little silly wrapped in her robe… toga… whatever (she was pretty sure it was just a bed sheet, not that it really mattered), but she was both flattered and a bit confused by Yusuke’s choice of subject. “How am I supposed to know what Athena looks like?”

Unconcerned, Yusuke began tracing out initial lines for his painting. “The representation of deities is ultimately a matter of artistic interpretation. In this case, I wish to capture humanity’s conflicted relationship with Truth. In your expression, convey a divine confidence in your own understanding, a challenge to mortals’ willful blindness and hypocrisy, and an offer to those who seek knowledge beyond appearances.”

Futaba thought for a moment about how to express all of that, before settling on a sort of haughty smirk, but with a bit of sympathetic warmth behind it, which seemed to satisfy him, as he nodded and began mixing colors and adding details. 

She quickly found that holding a pose for an extended period of time was possibly the most boring thing ever devised by humans. The only thing that made it bearable was knowing that she was the subject of Yusuke’s undivided attention, which felt both a little weird and strangely exciting. Thinking both that gods probably don’t blush, and that she didn’t want Yusuke noticing her doing so, she decided to break the tension. “Why do I have to be a dumb god anyway?”

Yusuke let out a huff without interrupting his painting. “I would hardly consider the goddess of Wisdom to be ‘dumb’.”

She rolled her eyes while trying not to move too much. “Not Athena specifically, gods in general. They’re just made up superheroes from the Stupid Ages.”

He shook his head and raised one finger on his free hand. “Regardless of one’s belief in their physical existence, gods are enduring monoliths within the landscape of human consciousness. Did we not slay a god born of humanity’s desire to forfeit freedom, to be comfortably controlled? And Anat, Hecate, Mercury, and Astarte are all gods who form an integral part of the identity of our compatriots. Even now, at times I feel my own connection to Susano-o.”

Seeing some validity in his point, but unwilling to concede just yet, she continued. “Yeah, but they only ‘exist’ in human consciousness because people didn’t know how things actually worked, so they made up stories to explain, like, the phases of the moon, and tides and seasons and stuff.”

Yusuke hummed thoughtfully as he continued to paint. “Perhaps. It is difficult to ascertain the precise origins of beliefs, but the human tendency to perceive patterns and ascribe meaningful causes runs deep. It is both the greatest strength of the mind, and the source of a multitude of errors and misunderstandings. Truth remains elusive, pointed towards and aspired to but never fully captured.”

Futaba was, at this point, really getting into this debate. “But does Big T ‘Truth’ even really exist, or is it just another ideal people made up to ascribe causes to patterns? Facts exist, and if you want to call the totality of facts ‘Truth’ you can, but it seems like when people talk about Truth they mean some kind of fuzzy sense of absolute ‘knowing’ that’s usually just a justification of the predetermined beliefs of whoever is claiming it.”

Yusuke set his brush down with a satisfied smile. “‘“Beauty is truth, truth beauty” – that is all ye know on earth, and all ye need to know.’”

She scoffed and rolled her eyes. “Okay, Keats.”

He turned the easel to show her his progress. “I still need to clean up the lines and fill in some of the details and background, but I believe we made excellent progress today. What do you think?”

She reached for her glasses to take a look, and was utterly flabbergasted by the results. It was… beautiful. Her small frame somehow managed an imposing challenge to the viewer, while her expression was thoughtful but fierce, full of both confidence and righteous indignation, somewhere between a perpetual question and a demand that humanity explain itself. While a hint of awkwardness remained in her posture, the flow of her garment lent her an elegance she didn’t know she was capable of. 

She turned, wide eyed, from painting to painter, speaking barely above a whisper and a little choked up. “Yusuke, this is incredible.”

He gave her an extremely pleased smile. “While I am never fully satisfied with my work, I must admit that I am rather happy with how this piece is turning out. Athena is generally portrayed as a benevolent deity, but I believe you have captured something of her dissatisfaction with humanity, and the ambiguous and elusive nature of the concepts of Truth and Wisdom. Moreover, I found our own debate on the topic quite elucidating, and hope we will have the opportunity to continue our discussion.”

She nodded, with a shy smile. “I’d like that. Hey, Yusuke, have you ever been to the planetarium?”

He shook his head with a look of regret. “Sadly, I have not. Although I have often wanted to, previously my financial situation prevented me from indulging, and since the pace of my work and exhibitions has increased, I have not had the opportunity.”

She linked her hands behind her back and rocked her shoulders bashfully. “Well, um… would you… like to go with me? ...To the planetarium, that is. I figured, maybe you could get some ideas… for paintings, I mean. ‘One never knows where one will find inspiration,’ right?”

She wasn’t sure if he picked up on the very bad job she was doing hiding her crush on him, but he gave her a warm, genuine smile that made her feel warm all over. “I would be delighted.”


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Holds

“While it’s called a wrist-lock, you don’t actually want to grab your opponent’s wrist, since they can snake their hand around yours and reverse your hold.”

Akira grabbed Makoto’s wrist, and she immediately twisted her hand around to grab his, as she slid around behind him, pinning his arm behind his back. She popped her head up over his shoulder with a smile and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

“Instead, grab the side of their hand under their thumb or little finger. This allows you to use their wrist joint for leverage over their entire arm.”

Makoto grabbed Akira’s hand below his little finger and twisted clockwise, causing his upper body to involuntarily bend forward ninety degrees, with his arm held up behind him in her grip as she clamped her other hand onto his shoulder, holding him securely.

Futaba, still feeling a little self-conscious about how out of place she looked in some of Makoto’s old workout clothes, gave them a skeptical look. “But am I gonna be able to apply enough force to actually do that?”

Makoto released Akira and nodded with a smile at her. “Since you’re using their joints as levers, it requires significantly less force than you would think. You might have a little difficulty at first, but that’s exactly why we’re training.”

Futaba let out a groan and her shoulders drooped. “That’s what I was afraid of.”

Makoto shook her head with a sigh. “A little exercise will be good for you, Futaba. I want you to be able to defend yourself if necessary, but that will require some effort on your part.”

Futaba threw her a despondent salute. “Yes, Queen.”

Akira shook out his arm and gave her a grin. “C’mon, it’ll be fun.”

She rolled her eyes with a huff. “Sure, it’s fun for you two because you love when Queen puts you in submission holds.”

He glanced over at a blushing Makoto. “While you’re not wrong about that, martial arts are also a satisfying and useful way to get in shape.”

Makoto shook off her embarrassment and nodded. “Well put. Using physical force in a conflict should always be a last resort, but knowing you can defend yourself will give you confidence, and needing to stay in fighting condition has always been good motivation for me to stay fit.”

Futaba cast a curious and covetous glance at Makoto’s honed body. “So if I do this, can I get rock hard abs and a perfect butt like yours?”

Her blush returned, but Makoto nodded. “Well, it won’t be overnight, but since you’re still growing, now is a perfect time to develop your musculature, and I can show you some simple exercises you can do on your own to tone up… certain areas.”

Futaba heaved a massive sigh of defeat. “Fiiiine, I’ll do it.”

Makoto pumped an enthusiastic fist with a grin of victory. “Excellent. We’ll start with some stretches and light cardio to warm up, then we’ll run through some basic techniques, and finish up with a little strength training.”

Getting in shape suuuuuucked.

Futaba was sore in muscles she didn’t know she had as she looked at herself in the bathroom mirror back at the Sakura house. How the heck did Makoto do it? Rationally she knew that it had taken her years of diligent training to develop the strength and agility she now possessed, but irrationally she still seemed like a superhero. A super hot superhero.

She grimaced as she lifted her shirt to see if there was any indication of the rock hard abs that must already be developing, given how hard Makoto and Akira had pushed her. Nothing. Still skinny with a hint of baby fat. She let out a disappointed sigh and let her shirt drop back down, pulling her shoulders back to try to emphasize her chest, beginning to develop a bit but still nothing compared to Ann. She twisted to try and assess any progress on her butt, but nothing there too. How long did this crap take to work?

She had never exactly taken much time to think about her appearance before, but her impending confrontation with destiny at the planetarium had her feeling a little insecure. Yusuke was not only super talented, he also was super smart AND super handsome (not that she would ever say any of that out loud). While she was super smart and super talented, she was also keenly aware that she was a bit of an internet gremlin, and she worried that someone with such a refined aesthetic sense wouldn’t find her particularly attractive.

The girls all told her she was “cute,” but that wasn’t the same thing AT ALL (she could see why it annoyed Mona so much when everyone called him cute), and “cute” wasn’t gonna cut it if she wanted to date Yusuke, who she was sure could get with any girl (or possibly guy) he wanted. The fact that he hadn’t gotten with anyone was, if anything, a sign of his incredibly high standards. Standards that she was beginning to have serious doubts about her ability to meet. While they had been friends for over a year, maybe that was why he had never asked her out himself.

She poked at the faint dark circles under her eyes with a grumble (maybe she should listen to Mona when he told her to get to bed earlier) and stuck out her tongue at her reflection. Needing some form of reassurance, she pulled the copy of The Order of Things Makoto had lent her (which was actually pretty good, and made history more interesting, if no less depressing) out of her bag, and pulled the portrait Yusuke had done of her from its place holding her page. Unfolding it and reexamining the face that was hers but still felt unfamiliar, she let out a sigh.

Her eyes flicked between the portrait and her reflection, trying to line up the features and recognize in her own face what Yusuke apparently saw in her. She tried matching the expression, but found it difficult to look at herself the way she looked at him, the confident sparkle in her eyes and the playful smirk not easy to replicate in her current state of uncertainty. There was some comfort, though, in the thought that he did see that in her, even if she didn’t quite see it in herself. 

Even if he was a weirdo, she had to admit that Yusuke had an incredible eye, and if there was anyone whose aesthetics she could trust, it was him. In typically cryptic Inari fashion, he had said she had a “unique aesthetic” that he enjoyed working with, which she hoped was a good thing, at least as far as her chances with him were concerned. Both the portrait and the Athena painting showed that he could certainly find something beautiful in her. The question was whether the beauty he found in her was something he would want in a relationship.

Feeling a little better about herself, though still a bit anxious, she folded the portrait back into the pages of the book and managed a shy smile at her reflection. 

Huh, that actually looked kind of alright. 

“So, ummm… do you want to, like, go out? As in… dating.”

No. Too blunt, and she was afraid of what his response might be if she put it all out there like that.

“I could be your muse.”

Nope. Way too cheesy, and knowing Yusuke, he wouldn’t pick up on the innuendo.

While Makoto had advised her not to rush things, she and Yusuke had known each other for over a year, and their trip to the planetarium together felt like as good a time as any to drop some hints that she wanted to be more than friends with him. The problem was how to drop that hint. 

She regretted laughing too much as Makoto described the “Test in Love/Study Partner” exchange that started her and Akira’s relationship to ask any follow-up questions about what she could say in a similar situation. While it was just about the corniest thing she had ever heard, she had to admit that it fit both of them perfectly, and was actually really cute and sweet. 

Could she come up with a similarly perfect line to initiate a romantic relationship with Yusuke? The more she thought about it, the more she worried about it, and the more she worried about it, the more this whole thing seemed like a bad idea. What if he didn’t want a relationship, or even worse, what if he did want a relationship, just not with her? Makoto had said that she thought there was a good chance that he did want a relationship with her, and Makoto was rarely wrong about anything, but what if this was the one time that she was? Would the cloud of awkwardness hanging over them ruin her friendship with one of her favorite people?

She shook her head, chastising herself for her indecision. If anything, her constant worry about the outcome if she came out and asked him was already making things way too complicated, preventing her from simply enjoying his company, as evidenced by the fact that she was standing in the bathroom of the planetarium, rehearsing potential lines to use rather than actually talking to him. 

Resolving to simply do what felt right in the moment, she gave herself one more look over in the mirror (while Makoto was no expert on makeup, preferring more of an au natural look, she had given her some “concealer” or something to help with the dark circles under her eyes, and she looked about as good as she was going to), and walked out to confront her fate.

Yusuke was, predictably, standing apart from the crowd with his hands raised in a frame in front of his face, his attention directed at a poster of the Crab Nebula. She shuffled over and poked him in the side to get his attention, feeling the familiar exciting warmth she was already beginning to associate with him as he smiled calmly down at her. “Excellent timing. I believe the show is about to begin, so we should likely find our seats.”

She nodded with a quiet hum of agreement and walked side by side with him to the main auditorium. As they sat down, Yusuke looked up in admiration at the architecture of the domed ceiling. It didn’t seem fair how calm he always was about everything. She turned off her phone and fiddled with the strap of her bag. “I think you’ll like it. Makoto brought me here the other day, and I thought it was going to be boring, but it was actually really cool.”

He nodded and glanced over at her with a slight smile of excitement. “Indeed. The heavens have served as a source of inspiration for all of human history. I am quite curious to experience what wonders the infinite depths of the universe hold.”

She was saved from her struggles to formulate a line about wanting to experience the wonders he held, as the lights dimmed, followed by the tremendous explosion of the Big Bang. She looked over, finding his full attention directed at the multicolored spirals of dust and gas expanding out across the endless blackness, and let out a sigh of resignation as she sank a bit in her seat and listened to the presentation.

As she sat through the show for the second time, a feeling of frustrated anticipation bubbled up in her. This definitely felt like the right moment, and she couldn’t think of anything to say to properly express what she really wanted. She should be enjoying this, sitting in the dark next to Yusuke as science and aesthetics danced together above them, but all she could focus on was the painful need for more.

Glancing back at him (he was too wrapped up in the glory of a supernova to notice), she noticed his hand resting on the armrest. With three deep breaths to steady her nerves, she slowly reached out her own hand and lightly rested it on his, letting her fingers curl softly around the side of his hand below his thumb. Her heart felt like it was about to explode in elation as his long, slender fingers gently curled around hers in response.

His hand felt a little cool to the touch compared to Akira or Makoto’s (the only other people whose hands she was familiar with holding) but both strong and delicate, an artist’s tool and itself a work of art. Her significantly smaller hand felt unbelievably comfortable wrapped in that delicate strength, and an almost electric thrill ran from her hand to her chest as Yusuke showed no sign of pulling back. She let out a contented sigh as she looked up to witness the effects of light bending around the outer edge of a black hole.

From an inconspicuous distance, Makoto nudged Akira and leaned over to whisper. “I told you I thought they would be very sweet together.”

Akira nodded and leaned in to kiss lightly behind her ear. “By now I should really know better than to doubt you.”

Futaba and Yusuke held hands for the entire rest of the show. As the lights came back up, she glanced sheepishly over at him. “So, does this mean we’re, um… dating?”

He tapped a finger on his free hand to his chest in thought. “Though I am admittedly not the most well-versed in such matters, I believe that both this and our excursion to the museum could be considered ‘dates’.”

She rolled her eyes and shook her head with a huff. “That’s the most Inari answer ever.”

He sighed and gave her an amused grin. “I still don’t know what that means.”

Rather than explain, Futaba brought her free hand up to hold his cheek, and leaned in to give him a quick kiss. Well, they could use some work on that, but they would have plenty of time to practice.


End file.
